Justice Mohammed Garba Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the arraignment of activist Omoyele Sowore and two others on cybercrime charges to October 27.
The arraignment could not proceed as the federal government had not served Sowore with the charge sheet.
When the case was called, Sowore, through his lead counsel Abubakar Marshall, protested that he had not received a copy of the charges or been personally served, as required by law.
The federal government’s counsel, Mohammed Babadoko Abubakar, director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), disputed this claim, insisting that Sowore had been served.
However, after consulting the case file, Justice Umar confirmed that Sowore had not received the charge and subsequently granted an order for service in open court, which Sowore accepted personally.
Sowore requested three days to study the charges and prepare his defense. Despite objections from the DPPF, the request was granted. The arraignment is now scheduled for October 27.
At Tuesday’s proceedings, Professor Tayo Oyetibo, SAN, represented the third accused, Meta Incorporation, while the second defendant, X (formerly Twitter), had no representation.
Sowore and the two companies face charges of allegedly making false posts against President Bola Tinubu, purportedly to cause public disorder.
The charges, filed on September 16, 2025, include X Incorporation and Meta (Facebook) as co-defendants.
In the five-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025, Sowore is accused of using his official X handle on August 25, 2025, to post a statement claiming that President Tinubu lied about corruption in his administration, an act alleged to contravene Section 24(2)(b) of the Cybercrimes Prohibition and Prevention Act 2024.
He is also accused of posting the same message on Facebook on August 26, allegedly with the intent to cause public disorder, similarly contrary to Section 24(2)(b) of the Cybercrimes Act. Additionally, Sowore is alleged to have published defamatory material against President Tinubu on X and Facebook, in violation of Section 375 of the Criminal Code, and to have published false information with intent to cause public fear, contrary to Section 59 of the Criminal Code.
The Department of State Services (DSS) filed the charges on behalf of the federal government.
